Florida to Alabama to Tennessee in a Whirlwind

Christina Tarvin
Jun 25
2 min read

Spring was busy for Honey -- especially one weekend in particular. Beginning in Pensacola for a sweet young friend's Friday evening homeschool graduation and then onto a super cool spot in northeast Alabama called the Dismal's Canyon to see glow-in-the-dark "Dismalites," with the next stop at a gorgeous Tennessee state park that boasts the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi.

Our new girl, Ellen Barkin, was fantastic on our campout! She's such a happy camper and we all had a great time in Honey. You may be wondering where Ellen sleeps in our small truck camper set up. The bed platform in Honey will not allow for Ellen's fan-cooled Rock Creek crate which is her every night sleep spot at the cabin. We were happy to discover that Ellen found herself right at home beneath the platform on one of her favorite blankets. Feeling secure that we were nearby and enjoying the breeze from our Rigid battery-operated fan, our puppy slept through the night. She truly has been the best dog!

Ellen is planning for travels to the states she hasn't yet been! Cool travel map was a gift from the Taylor's in our summer Happy Campers Small Group.

Leaving our cozy cabin for Northwest Florida made for a very familiar drive. We then drove the 350 miles to Phil Campbell, Alabama, and directly to the Dismal's Canyon for an incredible night hike with our hiking group. Of course, after brunch with our Pensacola friends, Melissa and the sweet graduate, that 5 1/2 hour drive didn't allow us to join for the daytime hike at Dismal's but we're planning a return visit!

It was our first time at the Dismal's so we hadn't seen the area in daylight. Just imagine going through an other worldly, Lord of the Rings kind of place for the first time ... in the dark! We were able to see lots of Dismalites, which are rare tiny bioluminescent creatures found only in a few places on Earth, close cousins of the rare glowworms found in Australia and New Zealand.

After our "glow worm" experience, we drove into the night arriving at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee to grab a nap until sunrise. Fall Creek Falls is home to one of the highest waterfalls in the eastern United States, 256 feet, along with other cascades, gorges, waterfalls, streams and lush stands of virgin hardwood timber. The primitive site we had reserved was PERFECT for Honey the Moonlander -- since we're pretty much self-contained all that's needed is the most secluded and shady spots. As you can guess, this state park makes for an amazing camping experience.